The term Agroforestry refers to the collective name for land use systems and technologies where woody perennials are deliberately used on the same land management units as agriculture crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence (Lundgren and Raintree, 1982).Trees and forests play important functions in the ecosystem categorizes as productive and protective functions. Productive functions encompass the production of fuel, food, fodder and timber while the protective functions include the conservation of soil water, fertility restoration, protection from erosion, and climate modification (Milewski 2017).
The ever increasing community demands for the named tree products seem impossible to satisfy from the existing naturally forested areas, hence the incorporation of trees in crop and livestock management fields seems the way to go. The World Bank estimates that over 1.2 billion people globally derive their livelihoods from agroforestry practices (ICRAF, 2008). It is also estimated that Uganda has lost about one third of forests cover over the last 30 years. The Country is therefore making great efforts to reduce deforestation through encouraging the satisfaction of household demands for tree products on farm. Between the year 2000 and 2015, it is estimated that about 50,000 hectares of forest was disappearing per year compared to the period between per year (NFA State of Uganda’s Forestry Report, 2016). The continuous disappearance of tree cover is a threat to the climatic condition of the country. Additionally, the loss of trees and shrubs threatens the livelihoods of people that are dependent on those resources. Both peasant and elite populations, globally, depend very much either directly or indirectly on plant resources for their livelihood (FAO 2009). Therefore, the rate of loss of forest cover must be kept as minimal as possible in Uganda through diversification of the sources of tree products.
Recently, Uganda has been making important progress in tree planting on private lands outside protected areas through a number of interventions for establishment of well managed tree plantations. These efforts have been mainly through the NFA and SPGS supported by external funders such as FAO. Obua et al (2010) however established that the interventions such as the SPGS targeted large plantation farmers ignoring small holder farmers who make the largest proportion of the population. It is clear that successful increase in tree/shrub cover cannot be achieved without the participation of small holder farmers who own approximately 70% of all land in Uganda. In order to involve the farmers, it is partinent to appreciate their attitudes and perceptions concerning the managing of trees on their farms by finding out how they are doing it currently, the challenges and opportunities prevailing for tree growing. The choices farmers make on whether or not to engage in tree growing are normally based upon their judgement of the potential of the intervention to maximise their welfare and uplift their livelihoods (Scherr 1995, Miller et al 2014, Meijer et al 2015). Miller et al (2014) identifies the analysis of farmer’s decisions and very key in designing workable and sustainable interventions for the people. Agroforestry research has also been conducted in Uganda aimed at identifying appropriate tree for inclusion on agricultural land without interfering with food crops/pastures. A number of Agroforestry practices have therefore been introduced and promoted in different parts of the country by various Agroforestry bodies, notably, the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the Uganda Forestry Resources Research Institute (FORRI) working together with a number of other non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) Such as Vi Agroforestry in Masaka District Kakuru and Okia, 2005) though the rates of adoption of modern agroforestry technologies are still generally lower than expected (Mwase 2015).
This study was undertaken in Mityana District, Maanyi subcounty and specifically Kivuuvu Parish to analyse the status of the tree systems in the area and make practical recommendations for maximising the contribution of the tree systems to livelihood. Specifically, the study determined (1) the most preferred tree species and reasons for their preference, and (2) existing tree management practices and challenges associated with these practices.